Ride the Rosslyn Metro Escalator

Sometimes the most memorable experiences are hiding in plain sight. The Rosslyn Metro Station, accessible from Fort Myer Drive and N. Moore Street in Rosslyn, is home to one of the world’s longest continuous escalators: a 207-foot bank of moving stairs that plunges nearly ten stories underground, taking roughly three minutes to ride from street level to the platform. The station is the deepest on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines and one of the deepest in the entire Washington Metro system, due to the area’s bluff geology above the Potomac River.

Riding the Rosslyn escalator — whether heading down into the rumbling cavern or rising back up to the sunlit city above — is a genuinely dramatic experience that first-time visitors and longtime Arlingtonians alike find striking. The station is undergoing escalator replacement through 2026 (new LED-lit models from Finnish manufacturer KONE), so expect some temporary closures during construction. Rosslyn is served by the Blue, Orange, and Silver Metro lines. Visit wmata.com for service updates.